Musician Paul McCartney shared his perspective on his infamous feud with “The Beatles” bandmate John Lennon during a May 30 interview.
Addressing the “hurtful” feud that tainted the final years of “The Beatles,” McCartney told the New Music Express (NME) that business disputes strained their friendship as well as their working relationship, but they were eventually able to find common ground. The musician was a member of “The Beatles” from when the band launched as “The Quarrymen” in 1957 until they broke apart in 1970.
When asked if he felt he had to honor and write about Lennon or George Harrison “in the right way” or as they were to him, McCartney replied, “I suppose so. I never think of it like that.”
Paul McCartney (left) and John Lennon (1940 ? 1980) performing with The Beatles during their American tour, August 1965. (Photo by Mark Hayward Archive/Getty Images)
Tension rose between the McCartney and Lennon when they didn’t see eye-to-eye about the Beatles’ management. McCartney was fond of his father-in-law, entertainment lawyer Lee Eastman, but his bandmates leaned toward businessman Allen Klein, according to People. McCartney remained steadfast in his views and refused to sign Klein’s contracts, claiming they were unfair. The band eventually dissolved.
Their disagreements were public, but McCartney insisted that he still has “very good” memories of Lennon and Harrison.
“I don’t feel like I have to be respectful,” he told NME about Lennon.
“He’s just a mate — it’s just this guy who I met, and we wrote songs together, so I don’t feel a sense of responsibility. I hope it is responsible,” he said.
The Beatles on stage at the London Palladium during a performance in front of 2000 screaming fans. (Photo by Michael Webb/Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
McCartney admitted it wasn’t such an easy situation at the time.
“[T]owards the end of ‘The Beatles,’ John was slagging me off a lot. At the time, it was very hurtful, like sticking little daggers in me,” he told the outlet.
“It was just annoying, because you thought, ‘I’ve got to answer him back, what am I going to do?’ But I suddenly realized, ‘Wait a minute, this is John. This is the guy I’ve known since I was 16. That’s just what he does.’ It didn’t sting so much once I realized it was just John being John.”
The bandmates and pals reconciled their differences in 1975, in a moment that McCartney admitted was “important” and organic. He said they regained their bonds through parenthood and family life, according to People.
“I was lucky because we’d been separated because of the business trouble and stuff, and John eventually came round to my way of thinking that the guy they wanted to bring in [Allen Klein] was a crook,” McCartney told NME.
“I’d suffered because they all thought I was the nutter, I was the crook.” (RELATED: ‘Stunned, Mortified’: John Lennon’s Friend Reveals Alleged Incident At Party Involving Yoko, Another Woman)
13th February 1964: The Beatles soon after their arrival in Washington, USA, playing in the snow outside the Coliseum where they were scheduled to perform before a sell-out audience. (Photo by Central Press/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
McCartney said Lennon eventually admitted that he was wrong, and he felt validated.
“It was good to hear John say, ‘I think Paul might have been right’ — begrudgingly,” McCartney said.
“He wasn’t one to say, ‘Yeah, you know what Paul told me…!’ He was like, ‘[mumbles] Yeah, he was right.’ So that made it much better,” he said.
At the end of it all, McCartney said he believed the relationship breakdown was a part of the band’s journey.
“Even though it was a painful period, we kinda had to go through it, or someone would have robbed us,” he said.